Nov. 24--The National Weather Service warned of slippery travel conditions as rain turned to bands of snow in the Chicago area Monday afternoon, with more than 400 flights delayed at O'Hare and Midway airports and more than 100 flights canceled.
The snow was being whipped by winds gusting at 40 mph, according to the weather service. Visibility could be reduced to half a mile in some places.
Accumulation was expected to range from around an inch in Chicago to 3 inches in some of the collar counties to as much as 5 inches along the Wisconsin border, according to WGN-TV's Chicago Weather Center. A winter weather advisory has been extended to 6 p.m. Monday evening for McHenry, Lake, Kane and other northern Illinois counties.
As of 3:30 p.m., about 400 flights were delayed at O'Hare and almost 120n were canceled, according to FlightStats. At Midway, two flights had been canceled and about 40 were delayed.
By 2 p.m., 1.3 inches of snow had fallen in Naperville, with 1.5 inches in Marengo and 1.1 inches in Elk Grove Village, according to the weather service.
The snow should end overnight, with some flurries lingering into Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service. The high Tuesday is expected to be in the upper 20s and, on Wednesday, in the mid-30s when more light snow may fall.
Thanksgiving Day should be sunny but cold, with the high in the upper 20s, according to the weather service.
"It's going to be on the cold side for a good chunk of the week," said weather service meteorologist Kevin Donofrio.
Highs could reach into the 40s by Saturday before dropping again, Donofrio said.
